Santorini, an Unexpected Pilgrim Site

“Tourists want everything to go exactly as they have planned. Tourists get upset if there are delays… Pilgrims look for signs. If delayed, they ask, ‘What is God trying to say to me?’” Matthew Kelly

Last year, I did my first Eucharistic Consecration using Matthew Kelly’s book “33 Days to Eucharistic Glory” as a guide. On one of the meditations, I was asked: “Are you a pilgrim or a tourist?” This question really got me thinking. How do I approach life? Do I live my life as a tourist or a pilgrim?

The answer lies somewhere in between. Sometimes I’m a tourist, and other times I’m a pilgrim. And there is a huge difference between the two. When I’m a tourist, I get annoyed easily when my carefully planned life doesn’t go the way I want it. When I’m a pilgrim, on the other hand, I see changes in plans as an opportunity from God to try something different.

Fifteen years ago, I wanted to go to Greece for our 25th wedding anniversary. We couldn’t make it then, but last summer, for our 40th anniversary, my dream became a reality. In a way, I’m glad that we had to wait fifteen years. If I had gone to Greece back then, I would have gone as a tourist. This time, I decided to visit Greece as a pilgrim. I knew that if I went to Greece as a tourist, and something went wrong with my carefully planned itinerary, I would probably get very upset. But if I visited Greece as a pilgrim, I would see changes in plans as signs from God that He had a better plan. Yes, I would try to follow my carefully planned itinerary, but I would be flexible and open to changes, trying to see God’s message in every situation.

Santorini was one of those places that turned out to be an unexpected pilgrim site. I was looking forward to staying in a white villa on the “caldera,” which is basically the cliffs surrounding the volcano. However, this did not turn out to be the fairytale that they paint in the movies. The villas are old. Toilets don’t work very well. I thought it would be romantic to have a hot tub inside our villa. Bad idea. The smell of chlorine was overpowering. And the water inside never got hot. We also had to climb hundreds of steps up and down every time we had to get out of the villa or return to it. Maybe on our 25th wedding anniversary, this would not have been a problem, but with fifteen more years on our bones, this was worse than training for a marathon. But I had come with the heart of a pilgrim, so I trekked up and down as if I was a native.

One day, we decided to drive to the other side of the island. It was Sunday, and the only Catholic mass on the entire island was being held at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Fira. We calculated our time to get there. The GPS said thirty minutes, so we gave ourselves forty-five. Driving in Santorini is definitely not for sissies. I would not have dared, but my husband loves to drive and after driving the Road to Hana in Hawaii many years ago, he thinks he can handle anything. The Road to Hana is a piece of cake compared to the narrow and curvy roads of Santorini. I was holding on to my seat as if my life depended on it. But we made it, in 30 minutes, just like the GPS had predicted. What the GPS didn’t tell us was that it would take us another 30 minutes to find parking and to walk the steep hill that would get us to the Cathedral. Therefore, we were late to mass.

When we finally got there, we opened the door and walked in. The space was small, and it was packed. We stood in the back, while the priest read the Bible in Greek. The priest then began to give his homily, and all of a sudden, I understood what he was saying. “Am I having a Pentecost?” I thought to myself since I definitely do not speak Greek. Then I realized that the priest was speaking in Spanish. And then he switched to English. And then back to Greek.

It turns out that the priest was from Mexico, and he gave the homily in three languages. And the best part of all is that the homily was about marriage, and we were celebrating our 40th anniversary. I was in awe at how God had led us there. We almost didn’t go into the church since we were so obviously late. But this was the only mass, so we figured, half a mass is better than no mass at all. And what a blessing it turned out to be. At the end of the mass, we approached the priest and introduced ourselves. When he learned that we were born in Cuba, and that we were celebrating our anniversary, he gave us a special blessing in our native language.

Aside from that very special marriage homily and anniversary blessing, we also learned that Santorini means Saint Irene (Santa Irini). There was a huge portrait of Saint Irene in the Cathedral. As soon as we left, I did a little bit of research about this saint I knew nothing about. I learned that Saint Irene led thousands of people to Christ through her preaching, and by her example. The Church continues to honor her memory and to seek her heavenly intercession. She is invoked by those wishing to effect a swift and happy marriage. You can learn more about Saint Irene on this website:

https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/0216/05/05/101297-great-martyr-irene

I always thought of Santorini as a popular tourist destination. And it is. But if I had visited as just a tourist, I would have been disappointed that the villa I rented did not turn out to be as I had imagined it. I would have been upset at the heat and the crowded streets when the cruise ships dropped over 10,000 visitors daily on the island. The hundreds of tourists taking pictures right outside our villa would have annoyed me to no end. But since I had the heart of a tourist, nothing bothered me, and I allowed God to lead me to the other side of the island where I learned about Santorini’s patron saint, and where I received a very special and unexpected anniversary blessing from a devout Mexican priest.